HOLISTICS AND ETHICS IN FAMILY LAW

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re truly excited to finally launch the first ever official Web site and blog in the history of Law Offices of Donna Santo – all in the same month. We would have had a ridiculously raucous party to celebrate this momentous occasion, but we really aren’t the ridiculously raucous partying types. We’re probably more like accountants. So instead of rollicking and spending our paychecks on gaudy party favors and new Hawaiian shirts, we found ourselves sticking to the grindstone at hand, doing what we do best: helping you help your family.

One of the main threads in our philosophy of practicing family law – and one that I believe separates our practice from the rest – revolves around the aspect of “wholeness”. In the same way that a “holistic” approach is required to build and maintain optimum health and a balanced personal life, we believe it to also be essential in bringing strong health and stability to the family law arena.

Sometimes called the Eastern approach to healing, the term “holistic” refers to the practice of taking into consideration the whole body and environment when offering a treatment for a given ailment. This makes perfect sense when dealing with medicine, because all aspects of our body are integrated into one living, breathing being. One part doesn’t act on it’s own, but in concert with all the other parts. We can’t have a healthy physical life without achieving some semblance of mental and emotional balance.

In a family law sense, it is just as important to recognize the dynamics of the interrelationships between each and every family member involved in the equation. Each family unit is comprised of individuals whose energies and consciousness are completely interrelated and often times dependent upon one another. In such an equation, whether we wish to recognize it or not, if one family member fails, we all fail. But in the same breath, if one of us rises above, taking the time and energy to learn the route to the higher road, we can then create the ability to bring the rest with us. This is imperative for any family who wishes to improve their lot as a whole.

And it is important for a family law attorney to breathe this possibility into the consciousness of those he counsels. Clients must be made aware that the possibility does exist. Their family can be saved, maybe not in the same condition it was before, but where everyone ultimately improves. This is how we try to approach personal family matters at our own homes, and this is the same compassionate approach we present to the individuals and families who seek our help.

Most importantly, we believe the essential component to a successful holistic family law practice is to operate with the highest standards of professional ethics. A practice designed to sow the seeds of healing, not dissension. If someone is looking to feed their pain through their lawyer or to pull one over on their soon to be ex spouse, or if they’re looking to harm their children or their family by attempting to skirt the law and the much valued ethical standards family law attorneys are held to, then we are not the right firm. Each attorney and family law professional at Law Offices of Donna Santo is held to the highest ethical standards achievable in Family Law. This is what we are known for in the legal community, and this is what we are morally obligated to do when dealing with the best interests of you and your family.